On Interpreting Causal Effects of Race

We approach the debate over “causal effects of race” from a social constructionist perspective. Our first main thesis is that on a broad range of social constructionist views about race, an individual’s race is manipulable, i.e., it is conceptually coherent to posit counterfactuals about a person’s race without risking essentialism or debunked biological thinking. Our second main thesis is that causal effects of race are indirectly relevant to policy. Estimating the causal effects of race may be a starting point for inquiry into the plural mechanisms of racism, i.e., the various pathways by which racial disparities arise. This may inform policies which intervene on the mechanisms themselves.